IHG Hotels & Resorts' systemwide business transient room revenue rose 4 per cent year on year in the third quarter of 2026, driven largely by a 3.9 per cent increase in average daily rate, the company reported on Thursday (22 October).
IHG CEO Elie Maalouf described corporate travel demand as “strong”, particularly in the Americas, where business transient room revenue rose 6 per cent year on year during the quarter and group business increased 12 per cent.
He attributed the growth to US corporate investment in technology, data centres, energy, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and construction, as well as US government investment in defence.
“There’s a general positive sentiment around corporate travel and we’re benefitting from it,” he said during Thursday’s earnings call.
The company reported a 5.3 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) across its global portfolio, with group demand the strongest growth driver, up 10 per cent compared with Q3 2025.
Maalouf said that corporate meetings and events account for half of IHG’s overall group demand.
IHG chief financial officer Michael Glover added that group business on the books “has been really strong” and remains up in the mid-single digits. “It looks like groups will continue to come in and that’s across the board and across all regions,” he said.
IHG Q3 metrics
Systemwide third-quarter RevPAR increased 5.3 per cent year on year to $97.16, driven by a 3.9 per cent rise in average daily rate (ADR) to $134.92 and a 0.9-percentage-point increase in occupancy to 72 per cent.
In the Americas, third-quarter RevPAR rose 6.8 per cent year on year to $108.36. ADR increased 3.9 per cent to $146.64, while occupancy rose 2.1 percentage points to 73.9 per cent.
Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, third-quarter RevPAR rose 5 per cent year on year to $153.86. ADR increased 4.1 per cent to $153.86, while occupancy rose 0.6 percentage points to 75.5 per cent.
RevPAR increased 2.8 per cent in the UK and 3.8 per cent in Continental Europe. It also rose 8.4 per cent in East Asia & Pacific, while the Middle East was “broadly flat” after a 19 per cent decline in the previous quarter. The six GCC countries, however, recorded a 12 per cent RevPAR decline due their proximity to the ongoing conflict.
“The Middle East conflict is not at the level of tension that is was back in March or April, but it’s not resolved yet,” Maalouf said during the earnings call.
“[The region] represents only 5 per cent of our business… [and] we’re happy that 95 per cent of our business is doing very well and making up for it in the near term. We’re highly confident that as soon as there’s a resolution, the Middle East will go back to its trajectory of growth and success. It bounces back very quickly,” he added.
In Greater China, third-quarter RevPAR fell 3.3 per cent year on year to $41.73. ADR declined 0.8 per cent to $67, while occupancy fell 1.6 percentage points to 62.3 per cent.
IHG opened 92 hotels in the third quarter and signed another 164 hotels, representing 21,100 rooms, with development “split broadly evenly” between new builds and conversions, Maalouf said.
At the end of the third quarter, the company's global portfolio comprised 7,186 hotels and more than 1 million rooms. Its pipeline totalled 2,426 hotels, or 353,000 rooms, as of 30 September, up 3.2 per cent year on year.
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